DEVILS LAKE — Temperatures that plunged into the single digits were good news for the organizers of the 2013 Midwest Open Ice Fishing Tournament set for Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 26 and 27.

Tom Knutson of Knutson’s Recreation Sales in Brooklyn announced Tuesday there is now sufficient ice to proceed with the tournament as planned on Devils Lake, just days after mild temperatures threatened to cancel the event for the second year in a row.

“It made the ice we had hoped to see,” Knutson said Tuesday.

Poor ice conditions last week at Devils Lake prompted Knutson to shift the competition to Wamplers Lake, where better ice prevailed. However, over the weekend, conditions there deteriorated but ice formed at Devils Lake.

As of Tuesday, there was approximately six inches of ice in the western basin of Devils Lake, where the event will now take place.

The boundaries for the tournament have been marked with orange cones from Lake View along the southern shore to a mark halfway along Cherry Point.

Knutson said the boundaries will not change even if conditions improve, adding he appreciates participants’ and spectators’ patience as organizers worked to place the competition in the best possible place.

Though no spaces are left for the 150-team event, Knutson said, the public is invited to watch the weigh-in and $16,000 top prize announcement at 2 p.m. Sunday at Columbia Central High School, 11775 Hewitt Road in Columbia Township. The top cash payout is part of more than $35,000 in prizes to be handed out.